I have been having some hip pain lately after I run & when I was in my LRS a few weeks ago the owner showed me some trigger point tools - a footballer, a quadballer, and some tennis balls and showed me how to work my quads & calves with them. It really helped so I went ahead and purchased the set. I had a race coming up in about a week so i set them aside not wanting to try somehting new right before a race.

I pulled them out tonight and went through the DVDs and some you tubes. There seems to be a learning curve to using them, but i really think they will be beneficial.

I've used them when I have a really deep or persistent issue. My favorite is the grid roller for my ITB issues and then the massage ball for a multitude of areas. For the grid roller I always take it especially slow from knee to hip about 10 times resting on my elbow and the upper leg resting on the lower leg so there is a lot of body weight on the roller. If I find a spot that seems especially tight, I'll make sure the square grid is properly aligned under that spot and let it sit there for about 15 seconds then slowwwwly roll it down a few inches then back, and repeat until that spot is relaxed. Also important for the ITB is the hip flexor, so you need to make sure you give it the same treatment.

The ball is, for me, much more versatile and I've used it from the shoulder to the hip/glutes to the calves to the bottom of the foot. It has the perfect combination of firmness and give that lets it get deeply into the knotted or simply overly tight areas. The way I use it is what I call focused patience. I put the ball directly under the spot that is tight/knotted the slowly transfer as much weight as I possibly can onto it. Then keep it there. Until I really can't any more. Then slowly lift up for about a 10 count and repeat a few times. It can be quite painful when you first get it going and you may find you can only put a certain amount of weight on it, but by the third rep you should be able to have a lot more weight on it as the tight area relaxes.

I have the ball and it is great at getting in the very tight hard to stretch areas. I have hip pain when I run and started using the ball for my hip, I do exactly what was stated above, just let it work its way in the really tight muscle and slowly releases it. I do agree it is painful when you hit the right area(just like deep muscle massage) but it works.

Ack-- Still have the receipt? Those things are so overpriced. Use a baseball and save a hundred bucks. Regardless of implement, my wife (who knows about these kinds of things) recommends me the following:
--quick motion back and forth across the irritated muscle
--quick motion along the length of the affected spot
--put it right under the spot and just lean into it.

And remember: nothing said while engaging in foam rolling can be held against you in a court of law.

Seriously, though-- baseball, tennis ball and golf ball is the lineup for me!

That's actually a very informative article and I'm going to study it more to look at the preventative side of the equation and discuss with my ART doc. As stated above, rolling the hip flexor/tensor fasciae latae is a part of my solution as that is one of the insertion points. I'm not a doctor and have no studies to back up my options, but have struggled with ITBS and do get relief from rolling the combination of the TFL and IT band. I understand that you are not necessarily relaxing the IT band itself, but I think that you are relaxing the underlying musculature which is causing the ITB to be put under more tension and thus inducing or worsening the pain at the knee or the hip. For me it is simple, if I roll I get relief and can run, if I don't and run, it worsens. My 2 cents.

Melody, in response to your question as to when and how often, I always try to get it when it is a simple discomfort to prevent it from becoming actual pain. If something is nagging, I'll do it in the morning, then before and after a workout. I always do some LIGHT stretching before just to loosen things up, but not enough to exacerbate the discomfort.

That's actually a very informative article and I'm going to study it more to look at the preventative side of the equation and discuss with my ART doc. As stated above, rolling the hip flexor/tensor fasciae latae is a part of my solution as that is one of the insertion points. I'm not a doctor and have no studies to back up my options, but have struggled with ITBS and do get relief from rolling the combination of the TFL and IT band. I understand that you are not necessarily relaxing the IT band itself, but I think that you are relaxing the underlying musculature which is causing the ITB to be put under more tension and thus inducing or worsening the pain at the knee or the hip. For me it is simple, if I roll I get relief and can run, if I don't and run, it worsens. My 2 cents.

Melody, in response to your question as to when and how often, I always try to get it when it is a simple discomfort to prevent it from becoming actual pain. If something is nagging, I'll do it in the morning, then before and after a workout. I always do some LIGHT stretching before just to loosen things up, but not enough to exacerbate the discomfort.

I think I'll start a new thread on it. I concur with you that I always "felt" rolling was helping.

I have the roller and I originally bought it for hip pain after a run, but now I use it as needed. Sometimes I just need to use it after waking up from sleeping weirdly. I love it and am glad I got it! I have used it on my feet, but I also use a tennis ball for my feet as well.